The Good, Bad, and Ugly Truth About Beauty Sleep

Beauty sleep is so much more than just a myth. At least that’s the case according to a recent study conducted by the Karolinska Institute of Sweden’s John Axelsson. The findings of the study, which appeared in the British medical journal, BMJ, involved 23 participants aged 18 to 31 who agreed to be photographed twice. Once after getting eight hours of sleep and the other after being allowed only five hours of sleep followed by 31 hours of being deprived of sleep. These photos were then shown to 65 untrained observers to rate the healthiness, overall fatigue, and attractiveness of the test subjects based on the two photographs. The results showed that people look more attractive, healthier, and well-rested after a solid eight hours of sleep.

The Good

The good is what sleep does for the body. According to the Huffington Post, this study in the BMJ is the first of its kind to explore the positive impact of sleep on beauty despite many other studies conducted exploring how too little sleep negatively impacts health and beauty. However, it’s important to remember that you can have too much of a good thing. According to New York City dermatologist, Doris Day, “There are studies that show getting too much sleep is as detrimental to your skin as not getting enough,” Getting too much sleep actually causes cells to begin breaking down.

The Bad

What exactly happens when you don’t get enough sleep? Short-term sleep deprivation is bad for the body. There’s no way around it. The common impact it has on the body is that it lowers immunity, leaves you feeling irritable, stressed out, and unprepared for the day. The study mentioned above and in this ABC News segment reminds us of the impact of just one instance of sleep deprivation. The truth is that we all need to get a good night’s sleep every night for the sake of our health and our beauty.

The Ugly

The ugly truth about beauty sleep is that chronic sleep deprivation has some very nasty impacts on health and beauty. Countless studies have linked it to health condition and beauty conditions alike including Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, depression, faster tumor growth, weakened immune systems, higher stress rates, and to diabetes. Today’s bodies need a little more than 40 winks to get them through the night. Eight hours of sleep, for many people, feels like a luxury with the busy lives you lead today. However, failing to get the right amount of sleep can place your health and beauty at greater potential risk than you realize.

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Amber Merton is an accomplished writer on the topics of green living and sleep. Her work has been covered in numerous online publications. Amber has been a regular author on the PlushBeds blog for the past 7 years.